Chronic stress can have a causal health impact or, in many people, can exacerbate existing health conditions. Stress affects the physiology and the psychology of an individual and can have a profound negative effect on their overall wellness. As people feel increasingly more pressured, exacting, competitive, and hurried in their ever more hectic daily lives, mental and physical stress is growing and the need for ways for people to cope with stress, release anxiety, and find relaxation are concomitantly increasing.
Unfortunately, too many people are unable to extricate themselves from their hurried routines and find their only break in different forms of stressful endeavor. For example, people who look to release tension through physical exercise will frequently only add to their overall mental stress as the activity becomes time consuming or controlling. Conversely, even passive activities which are considered by many to be both physically and emotionally peaceful and relaxing may often create additional stress. This stress may result from the mental involvement in games where players are pitted against other players; from fright or distress induced through distressing media; mental involvement in sports competition; and personal or emotional involvement in the story line of movies, shows and the like.
Numerous books and papers have been written on ways to relieve stress and anxiety. In addition, exercise systems, biofeedback systems and the like have been developed to assist in obtaining both physical and mental relaxation. Normally, such systems are employed in conjunction with physical devices which are designed to stimulate the senses, and are generally intended to provide an environment for the individual that shuts out outside interferences.
Alternatively, some people attempt to remove themselves from daily duties and other activities, by, for example, attending resorts or secluded hideaways where there is time to relax and peaceful surroundings. Others have sought various forms of controlled physical exercise in an effort to find an escape from stress. For example, health spas cater not only to physical exercise but provide hot tubs and saunas and the like to relieve tensions and ease muscles. However, these are time intensive and expensive activities that are not readily accessible to all those who need assistance with stress reduction.
Lastly, use of psychotropic drugs to treat symptoms of stress can have negative side effects and are not necessarily an effective means to manage day to day stress.
It is well known that there is a relationship between stress, especially chronic stress, and a person's health and well-being. And while, as discussed above, there are treatments and coping techniques that have shown some success in reducing stress levels, these treatments and techniques lack potency. Thus there is a need for treatments to reduce stress and anxiety in individuals as part of their stress management program that are powerful, easy to access, effective, quick, and versatile in use.